


Perfect isn't synonymous with us, but we are close enough

by muffin_reverie



Series: Catalyst defined in a relationship [4]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-06-02 01:22:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6544675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muffin_reverie/pseuds/muffin_reverie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The gestures are fairly simple and natural to anyone; yet they also epitomize the manner in which Josh’s heart is always in the innocent embrace of Maya’s, and how she always unreservedly gravitates towards him in all that she does. It is in all probability that with this knowledge, the universe has been throwing little curveballs at the both of them to test the nature of their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfect isn't synonymous with us, but we are close enough

Sometimes when it comes to a relationship, or however it is that one may define the association between Joshua Matthews and Maya Hart, there are the moments when the universe’s negativity creeps in and it decides to take a go at the two hearts at stake.  
  
At the age of 20, Josh has seen quite a fair bit of the nature of relationships between two persons. His parents, Cory and Topanga – _the_ CoryandTopanga, his friends, and even between Riley and Lucas. Josh looks down at his lap to where a sleeping Maya is comfortably strewn across him with her legs stretch out over the couch and her right hand tucked under her cheek as her left arm dangles in an awkward position. He carefully places his book on the table and smiles when she moves a little, her fingers reaching to the edge of his shirt and curling themselves around it, and he settles in contentedly against the couch. His right hand rests on the trails of long blonde hair and he feels her head shift closer to his hand and his fingers tangle with her locks as he closes his eyes to give in to sleep.  
  
The gestures are fairly simple and natural to anyone; yet they also epitomize the manner in which Josh’s heart is always in the innocent embrace of Maya’s, and how she always unreservedly gravitates towards him in all that she does.  
  
It is in all probability that with this knowledge, the universe has been throwing little curveballs at the both of them to test the nature of their relationship.  
  
There are the little things; her stubbornness, his tendency to be a perfectionist, her habit of leaping before looking, and him with absolute punctuality – quirks which often stem bickering between them. The moments they had were at random, sometimes unexpected, such as the time at Disney World when Maya was resolute to go on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train instead of Josh’s choice of the Big Thunder Mountain for their first ride, or the one evening when Maya was late for a Yankees' game and Josh had been eager to go to the first fixture of the baseball season. However, these were the easier ones where an honest apology or a funny face coupled with a pitiful expression would bring about a compromise and a smile from the other.  
  
Then there are the bigger ones.  
  
Josh is no stranger to jealousy, but the green-eyed monster hardly got to rear its head until it came to Maya’s relationship with Farkle. It is almost indescribable in the manner Farkle genuinely adores the blonde ball of confidence and sarcasm, while she equally cares about Farkle to the point where she’d drop anything she is doing if the boy needs her to. While Josh knows Maya would do the same for him, he is also aware that she treasures her friendship with Farkle to the point where he can be in third place – he has long known that Riley will always be the top priority in Maya’s life.  
  
However, what really irked him the most was the fact that Farkle had also been Maya’s first kiss.  
  
Josh had never expected himself to be Maya’s first kiss, considering their circumstances, but it was still a raw sting to his bruised ego whenever he remembered he wasn’t the one. Maya had attended her first high school dance with Farkle for the homecoming of her sophomore year – and just as the evening ended, perhaps they were both lost in the moment of the Neverland theme of their dance, Farkle had bended his head to meet Maya’s lips in a soft and brief kiss. Josh had been seething inside when he heard it from Maya the following day, during their breakfast together at Topanga’s.  
  
It took a few days for the burn within Josh to simmer when Maya confronted him about his broody self whenever Farkle was around. When he admitted that he was disconcerted in the fact that her first kiss had been with someone else, Maya was dubious at first as she responded with raised eyebrows. He explained how uneasy it had made him felt and how ridiculous he knew he was being but it was simply something he could not get out of his system. Maya took his hand in both of hers and told Josh with a solemn look that if he decided to inflict any sort of harm on her friend, he was going to have to go through her first because she was once Mrs. Farkle Minkus after all – though he had nothing to worry about besides that because she had been and still is rather much taken by “someone whose name rhymed with Pashwar Cashews”, and that was all it took to assuage Josh from his jealousy as he laughed.  
  
When Maya was admitted to the hospital for appendicitis during one of those days that Josh was away on a road trip with his friends, he had returned feeling apologetic but it turned into annoyance when he found out that she was furious at his absence. The sullen atmosphere in the ward room had Cory removing Josh on the pretext of getting coffee from the café and Riley switching the topic to something that happened at school. Every moment they had after that was always one where Maya refused to say anything to him except for pointed remarks at his apathy while Josh called her out on being a brat who wanted the world to revolve around her. He couldn’t understand her behavior, and she didn’t want to listen to his “self-righteous talk about being understanding of circumstances that are beyond one’s control”.  
  
It wasn’t until a week after Maya was discharged from the hospital, as she rested at home and Josh came around to visit with a few 80s movies – because he still cared about her after all, did she finally relented and owned up to her behavior. She had been afraid, what with it being her first surgery, and it would have helped so much more for her to see the faces of the people she cared about most before she went in for the surgery and after. Riley and Katy had been there, even Auggie, Topanga and Cory, but he wasn’t – and when he finally showed up, Josh didn’t realize the apprehensive bundle of nerves within her and the reason behind it. Maya wasn’t proud of the way she behaved and she knew she couldn’t justify her need to have him around; she quietly offered her apology but Josh smiled and pulled her into his arms with his own apology instead. Placing a tender kiss on her forehead, he murmured, “I should have been there and you had every right to be upset, Maya. I was supposed to protect you, even from the smallest of things to the big ones – like making sure you would never feel alone or scared.”  
  
While many who knew them both would say that the pair has gotten much closer after Josh’s accident in which he was hit by a car while he was on his bike, Josh would say that they had their moments of distance as well.  
  
Though Josh had spent most of his time at Cory’s home because his mother decided that he needed someone to look after him as he recovered and Topanga had agreed; his daily dose of Maya’s presence were only limited to the mornings when she would be the first to greet him with a brilliant smile. Beyond that, Maya was away for the most of the day as she had soccer practices, and extra art classes for the afternoon she wasn’t on the pitch, while Josh used most of his time trying to catch up with his missed classes and assignments.  The first summer that arrived a few months after Josh’s accident also saw Maya leaving for a summer soccer school through a week with a popular English soccer club, before Shawn surprised her with a week in London and Rome, while Josh spent his summer as an intern for a daily newspaper, a stint he had been hoping to get for an exposure in the press and its backend. After the summer, sometimes they would even have up to two weeks of not seeing the other, without so much of a hello, due to his sophomore college life and assignments, and her dedication to art and soccer while juggling regular classes. Riley had questioned of their separation, which had seemed almost intentional, but they had laughed it off.  
  
Admittedly, Josh did pondered of the detachment that existed between him and Maya, it was as if physical distance didn’t really bother them that much and there was even lesser need for any emotional closeness when neither he nor she was at stake of a breakdown or bodily injury of any kind. Katy had asked Maya about his absence from Topanga’s, Cory checked in with Josh in concern if things were okay, Lucas brought it up that Josh missed Maya’s soccer games twice in a row, and even his roommate asked if Maya was unwell because the latter hardly seen her around when usually she would come by on Saturdays for breakfast with Josh and his friends. Little doubts began to rise in the back of his mind, until the point where both Josh and Maya sat down together after an open-mic night session at a café nearby his university – where he played the guitar and she sang with him to a few songs of their shared favorite, to address what seemed like a burning question.  
  
Josh discovered and understood that the audacious Maya Hart was never one to cling onto anyone, not even with him, and Josh confessed to a preference of having his own space and personal time as well. Even when everyone around them defined that being emotionally attached to someone meant being physically together too, he realized he was comfortable with their time apart and Maya had also felt no urgent need to give in to such perceptions either. The distance allowed them the time and space to grow as a person of their own. If anything, the distance did make their hearts grow fonder of its respective owner, while they were also much more appreciative of the time they do get to spend with one another – and he found himself being fascinated with each new discovery he has of Maya every time he sees her after their brief time apart.  
  
The one trait that Josh is most wary of himself however, is his insecurity. Being the youngest, he had both sides of the coin; being spoiled and given all that his heart wants, and being pressured into emulating his siblings who are all successful persons whom his parents are proud of. There are times when Josh isn’t sure if he is enough just being who he is, and he would hate to admit the ugly truth but he does need the reassurance that he is.  
  
So when Maya goes to Shawn to help her decide on her summer exchange art history program between Spain and France, without even telling Josh about her plan in the first place, it was a stab to his confidence about how much he actually mattered for her to disregard his opinion when she was about to relocate herself for a month in a different continent. He wasn’t even included in the process when she did her application through Parsons and he certainly didn’t know which art piece she submitted to be shortlisted for the program. This was one distance he wasn’t ready for, considering how he wouldn’t see her for weeks straight and a time difference of 6 hours with the Atlantic Ocean between them. He had been disappointed, though he took care not to sulk or mope about it; he was still inwardly despondent about the choice she had made.  
  
Until Maya appeared at his dorm one evening in mid-March with an envelope in her hands. He had looked at her and the envelope with a look of confusion, but she simply told him to open and read it. The college student recognized the school logo and with his heart heavy in his chest, Josh did as he was told – his blue eyes quickly scanning the letter before he read out loud, with a tone of pride as each word left his lips, that Maya Hart had been accepted with a scholarship to Parsons Paris’ summer intensive studies program for high school students. Despite himself, Josh couldn’t help but to smile elatedly at Maya’s shriek of euphoric joy.  
  
He offered her a hug, to which Maya almost knocked him over in all her excitement as she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck; and that was when she admitted of how important it was to her to share this moment with him – “I didn’t want to open this in front of anyone else, not even my mom, or Riley.” Josh saw the glow of affection coloring her features when she pulled back to look at him in the eyes, a rosy hue evident at her cheeks as she continued, “Because you have always been the reason for me to believe that everything is going to be alright, eventually and regardless. I’ve never dared to hope but you’ve always believed enough for the both of us, so this is for you – for believing in my dreams for me. Thank you, Josh.”  
  
They spent another summer apart, her 17 th in Paris for her exchange program and his 20th across Europe with his best friends in a backpacking trip. Maya kept up with his travels through his postcards and photographs while he was updated about her Parisian days with her emails and drawings.  
  
Temptations and distractions arose. Josh met a few girls along the way, fellow college backpackers, but he kept them at arm’s length with friendly smiles, casual conversations and never being on his own with any one of them. Maya shared there was a British boy who caught her eye with his art and he seemed to be fond of her as well – but she wasn’t interested anymore beyond their shared interest in canvas and paint colors. Josh’s friends were amused his modest behavior around the opposite gender, but they knew how serious he was with his feelings for Maya when he firmly declined, albeit as thoughtfully as he could, to one of the girls who invited him to her room. When Maya told Riley over the phone that Connor, the student from Manchester, asked her for a date – a charming dinner and art exhibition planned; her best friend had squealed in excitement until Maya said with a laugh that while she took up the invite, she had made it clear to Connor that she wasn’t interested in the romantic connotation that the date may have been for him. The line on Riley’s end was quiet for a moment before Riley spoke up  and told Maya that she was proud of her – Maya heard the smile in her best friend’s voice.  
  
Eventually, Josh found himself returning to Maya again as he made the last 3 days of his five-week travel to be in the capital of France. Maya surprised him with an oil painting she did of him as the final assignment for her program, one of him with Mickey ears at Disney World when he was laughing at something Auggie said, and it was the piece that earned her a space at the special exhibition for the students at The Pompidou. He had beamed from ear to ear at the presentation, and in return, Josh spent the last of his Euro on a quaint dinner at the unassuming yet artistically-inclined Les Frigos and shared a dance with Maya to the voice of Ray Eberle for the 1941 classic by Glenn Miller. The owner of the little restaurant took a photo of them dancing, and presented it to them for a memory of the night – when Josh confessed the words in his heart as he softly sang the lyrics to the song they danced to. Maya smiled and pressed her lips to his cheek, a silent affirmation to his feelings – one that they have yet to speak out in the open, but were well aware of.  
  
All of which brings them to the present moment, where Maya is asleep with Josh on the couch of Cory’s apartment after having returned from a 9-hour flight and dinner with the rest of the Matthews, Katy and Shawn.  
  
“Should we wake them up?” Cory whispers to Topanga as they stand watching from their place by the dining table. Topanga, still smiling, shakes her head. “But we promised Shawn and Katy that we would make sure they’d not be –”  
  
“Cory, look at them. They are tired and asleep.” Topanga turns her head to look her husband in the eye, “Surely you trust Josh more than that.”  
  
“I do.”  
  
“You just don’t want to break your promise to Shawn.” She rolls her eyes, and Cory sheepishly grins. “Let them have this time together. The universe can take a break from trying to pull them away from each other.”  
  
Cory looks to the sleeping young adults and he feels his heart softening, as if it already hadn’t upon the first sight alone on the two when he came downstairs to tell them it was beyond midnight and they should head to bed. He smiles. “The universe can wait,” Cory agrees. Taking Topanga’s hand in his, he turns off the last of the lights and retires to their room.  
  
In the living room, Maya’s left arm unconsciously curls to her head where her fingers find Josh’s hand and he instinctively interlaces their fingers together. A small smile finds its way to Maya’s lips in the midst of her dreams, and Josh falls deeper into his sleep of ineffable serenity – both in comfort of each other’s company.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and also to everyone who's kindly left a kudos in the other works within this series - thank you, it's always wonderful to know that the story has been much enjoyed :)
> 
> Disclaimer: Characters belong to the wonderful world of Disney, and the creators of Girl Meets World/Boy Meets World


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